Stoner Sundays 076: Mike Rita Open Mic

Vapor Central sits high – or rather, sits high – above the bustle of Yonge Street just south of Bloor. The unobtrusive second-floor neighbour to the Toronto Hemp Company, Vapor Central is the homegrown hub of two budding Toronto sub-cultures: Marijuana and Comedy. Thanks to Stoner Sundays founder Mike Rita, it isn’t just weed causing uncontrollable fits of laughter.

It’s 8:45pm on show night and although it’s scheduled to begin in 15 minutes, Rita won’t take the stage for another half hour because… well, what’s the rush? I mean, most of the audience is lobotomized – hitting a plethora of smoking apparatus; a bong here, volcano there. They aren’t going anywhere. Although Rita would prefer punctuality, his 18-month experience as the Don of Stoner Sundays has taught him to patiently wait for the audience to arrive.
And they do. Continuously. For 45 minutes.